loving art, science and creative kids
8/27/2016 6:05:36 PM
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INKWATER PRESS A DIVISION OF FIRST BOOKS
6750 SW Franklin Streeet, Suite A, Portland, ORegon 97223-2342
Phone: 540-968-6777
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New Release from INKWATER PRESS A DIVISION OF FIRST BOOKS
Former OMSI President Reveals the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly History Behind the Hands-On Education Movement.
“...will help you see science museums in a new light.” – David Ucko, Museums+More llc
In this lively, behind-the-scenes look at the evolution of interactive science museums, discover:
> How the Brooklyn Museum of Art was saved from closure by Mayor Rudolph Guiliani for showing a painting by Chris Ohili of the Virgin Mary that contained elephant dong.
> Why an autistic child spoke for the first time on a science center visit.
> Who kept NOVA from being canceled when congress did not agree with their investigative reporting style that explored sensitive subjects like nuclear energy.
> What inspired a poor Appalachian orphan to go from rags to riches to become a museum president who later rented an entire cruise ship to see a global eclipse on the Amazon.
> Why executives at the top are subject to sexual abuse and find it nearly impossible to manage.
> The outcry caused by the Playboy Bunnies playing basketball with business executives to raise funds for a museum.
“recommended for those who care about museums, libraries, and society today.”
– Ginnie Cooper, Directed Washington D.C., Brooklyn, and Portland library systems .
Peer into the Political and educational climate of the 1960s to discover factors that propelled the hands-on education movement into prominence. Follow the missteps and breakthroughs of Marilynne Eichinger and 11 other naive but dedicated museum directors, board volunteers, and National Science Foundation managers as they strove to change the way science was taught. Their oft humorous stories are revealed with candor and clarity. Responding to the latest research in learning and child development, they created engaging, self-teaching displays that impacted the landscape of 2,900 centers worldwide while serving 98 million people in the U.S.
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Title: Lives of Museum Junkies
Subtitle: The Story of America’s Hands-On Education Movement Author:Marilynne Eichinger
ISBN: 978-1-62901-382-4
Publisher: Inkwater Press
Pub date: 2016 Pages: 396
Paperback: $19.95 Kindle: $8.99
Distributors: Ingram and Baker & Taylor
Availability: Amazon, Inkwaterbooks
Contact | John Williams | Marketing Director | [email protected] | 503.968.6777
Praise for Lives of Museum Junkies
“Marilynne Eichinger has created a very worthwhile contribution with her thorough analysis of science museums. Her book will bring added interest to museums and what they can offer now and in the future.”
—Jean Auel, author Earth’s Children series
“Marilynne shares the experiences and insights of many who shaped the field, along with her personal reflections. Her engaging book will help you see science museums in a new light.”
—David Ucko, Museums+More LLC
“The book is very well written and easy to enjoy. This topic requires a “storytelling” approach, and it has been captured well. Those recognized in the chapters should be honored for your treatment of their many accomplishments. The book concludes with a valuable perspective on the future of museums. That future will be a function of the leaders who take to heart the many “lessons” that are offered.”
—Bud Rock, Executive Director Association of Science and Technology Museums
“This great read tells the story of the beginning of science museums through the eyes of early pioneer Marilynne Eichinger. She includes lessons from her life and the lives of other pioneers in museums of experience. Recommended for those who care about museums, libraries and society today.”
—Ginnie Cooper, Directed Washington D.C., Brooklyn, and Portland Library systems
“People interested in museums as real educational environments, parents interested in their children’s education, and people seeking to find themselves in a positive way could all benefit from reading this book. I love the way the bios of major contributors are interspersed through-out—most thoughtful. A terrific story!”
—Ronald C. Rosenberg. Professor, Associate Dean Emeritus, Michigan State University
“Marilynne Eichinger has embraced the past to give a lively behind-the-scenes description of the evolution of interactive science museums and why these science playgrounds should be part of your life.”
—Michelle Marquart, Past VP Marketing, Oregon Coast Aquarium; General Manager, Mount Hood Railroad
About Marilynne
Marilynne Eichinger has been an active supporter of hands-on learning throughout her career as both a mother and museum professional. Graduating magnacum-laude from Boston University with an emphasis on anthropology, she went on to receive a master’s degree in psychology from Michigan State University. In 1972 Marilynne founded Impression 5 Science Museum in Lansing, Michigan in order to share the wonders of science that she was introduced to as a child at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia.
After thirteen years she left Impression 5 to become president of the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, one of the nation’s oldest and most renowned science center. There she spearheaded building a new 250,000 sq. ft facility and workshop on the Willamette River in center city Portland, acquired a submarine from the Navy and installed a large-format theater. Under her presidency she cultivated a traveling exhibit service developing displays that traveled internationally. She oversaw science classes, camps and education programs that serviced a five state region,installed a large-format theater. Under her presidency she cultivated a traveling exhibit service developing displays that travelled internationally. She oversaw science classes, camps and education programs that serviced a five-state region.
Marilynne’s concern for children’s education led her to move to her next venture in 1995. With the involvement of 22 museums and private investors she established the nationally distributed Museum Tour Catalog which provides hands-on investigative materials that complement school curricula. Her business sold in 2013, providing more time to spend with her five children and eight grandchildren. Marilynne remains an active painter, blogger, and traveler. She is the author of books that benefit the education of young children.
In 2010 she and her partner Ray Losey adopted a nineteen year old homeless boy. His story, both personal and poignant inspired Marilynne’s interest in impacting the lives of disadvantaged youth. The True Story of Streetwise: Overcoming Homelessness and Beating the Odds is available as an ebook on Amazon. She is currently engaged in research for a comprehensive treatment of youth homelessness. Over the Peanut Fence is scheduled for publication in 2017.
INKWATER PRESS A DIVISION OF FIRST BOOKS
6750 SW Franklin Street, Suite A, Portland, OR 97223-2543
Contact | John Williams | Marketing Director | [email protected] | 503.968.6777
8/20/2016 11:37:42 AM
Can you love these faces? It is not always easy is it? They may arouse interest, disgust, sadness or anger but LOVE?
What is love anyway?
What is Loving Anyway?
Week after week I am preached to about the importance of love. “Welcome to our loving community,” our minister says. It makes me wonder what he really means. Is our community loving?
Most religions agree to the value of this emotion. In Mark 12:13 it says ”love your neighbor as yourself.” Jewish concepts from Leviticus 19:16-18 convey the same message, “be loving to your neighbor.” Muslims read in Hadith 13, “Love for your brother what you love for yourself.” The Buddha had many sayings such as, “ Love is a gift of one’s inner most soul to another so both can be whole,” and “ Love the whole world as a mother loves her only child.”
There are others who believe in love but define it from a moral, metaphysical and spiritual perspective. When a parent says to a child, “I love you,” the atheist believes that the mother is verbalizing an instinct to preserve the species. A spouse who says, “I love you,” is expressing something about his or her biological processes that can be translated into, “My hormones surge for you.” To them love is an advanced evolutionary phenomenon. Maslow mentions it in his hierarchy of needs by putting love at the third level from the bottom of his pyramid. Love can only be obtained after satisfying basic needs for water, food, shelter. and security. Can a community of refugees or street people form a loving community?
What does he directive “to love others as myself” mean to a person who does not love himself? And for that matter, what is involved in creating a loving community? I’ve known people who belonged to a cult and been told that when they left the group they felt at a loss. There was a closeness that developed from shared beliefs of love and compassion even though there were other aspects that stopped making sense to them.
I question my own goodness because I certainly don’t love everyone. I am somewhat of the evolutionary belief that takes hormones and emotions into account. Yet, I can see the beauty and reason for loving others if we want to live in a just society. However, it exhausts me to think about the work implied.
My mind wanders, and I wonder what it would take to exude feelings of love for all creatures. In other words, how do I increase the chemical reactions in my body to make me feel love, for I do believe it is a survival mechanism that keeps people from destroying each other. It is a moral issue that our species needs embrace as it is a pleasure instinct. It definitely feels wonderful when I am washed over with love .
Most religions interpret t directives to mean sharing with the poor and the alien. We are told not to gossip or slander, to refuse to bear a grudge, to take care of one another and to never put another’s life at risk. And we are to practice compassion, honesty and justice. It is a to-do list of things that tell us how to act, believe and feel.
Unfortunately, I find it difficult to love someone, especially if I do not know that person well. The word conjures up a close personal relationship in my mind. When I hear acquaintances say, “I’ve fallen out of love with my wife,” or “ it is hard to love that child. He’s obnoxious,” I suppose they mean that their love hormones no longer work. But so what? Am I off the hook or do I have an obligation to carryout the, “do-good’ list of obligations?
I observe friends and acquaintances working for global justice issues and notice that though the causes are good though they sometimes forget to take care of their own needs and that of their families. Gandhi was a man who was less than kind to his family, though he aided a nation. Hmm. Isn’t it important to take care of those near you first?
Who should help the homeless person or an elderly neighbor living alone. Who is responsible for visiting a person ill in the hospital? I wonder how many people stay in touch with their divorced friends and offer ongoing support. Do they get annoyed and think, “when is he going to stop feeling sorry for himself?” And when the spouse of a friend dies, do they expect the person to return to normalcy by the end of the year rather than accept that it may take five or more years to get over the death of a loved one. It is hard to be around sadness.
Love takes time. It involves effort and means getting to know the other person as yourself. It also demands time to celebrate when good things happen. And, it means listening to children and friends though you are busy and tried. Being present with love gives a warm cuddly feeling and makes me happy in the knowledge that I am trusted to share both good and bad occurrences.
As I age, I want to expand my chemical reactions by following the advice of wise sages. I hope to live in a loving community but decided that to do so, I have to work to make it that way.
References:
www.40hadithnawawi.com/index.php/the-hadiths/hadith-13http:// - words from the Quaran
www.curatedquotes.com/love-quotes/buddha -Quotes from the Buddha
www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/loving1.htm - Quotes from Judaism
biblehub.com/mark/12-13.htm- Quotes from the New Testiment
http://www.conservapedia.com/Atheism_and_love - Atheism and love
http://www.gotquestions.org/love-neighbor-yourself.html- what it means to love one another
http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=Basic+Human+Need+Maslow+Hierarchy&FORM=RESTAB - Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
Art is always for sale. For pricing go to eichingerfineart.com/faces or contact me at [email protected].
Please share your thoughts below.
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Lives of Museum Junkies will be available for purchase on AMAZON by September 1st or contact me at [email protected] for a signed advance copy. Cost $19.95 plus $ 4 shipping.
8/13/2016 9:43:13 AM
Nourishing the Desert
Acrylic painting, deep canvas/ 36” by 24”/ $499
A diversity of people composes the fabric of our society. As we look at it from afar we see that the whole creates a beautiful landscape that is more dramatic than the parts. Once the land is nourished the garden can burst into bloom.
The following excerpt is from Lives of Museum Junkies available month end on Amazon. Keep posted for more information. As a museum professional, I was privy to many experiences that influenced how I think about our country’s racial divide. After Martin Luther King’s march, I assumed we had overcome a hurdle and we would live in a more compassionate place. Unfortunately, when I listen to the news today, I realize that lack of understanding between various racial groups continues. Yet, I am reminded of my youth and how a biased childhood made it difficult to understand the implications of a diverse society. I had to change before I could nourish others. The following excerpt is one of many events that made me do so.
Nourishing Diversity
“I got to know of Earvin Johnson’s mother, the school’s cleaning lady, during a time when Earvin became a local hero. She and her husband were supportive of their talented son and encouraged him to better his basketball chances at all white Everette High. The transition was difficult. He encountered a great many racial incidents, as he wrote in his autobiography Life, but eventually realized that they helped him “understand white people, how to communicate and deal with them.”
Earvin was anointed the moniker “Magic” at the age of fifteen when a writer for the local paper recorded a triple-double of 36 points, 18 rebounds and 16 assists. Earvin had so many fans that the high school had to use Michigan State University’s field house for his games. Not giving into pressure to go elsewhere, upon graduation he enrolled locally and we all got to celebrate when MSU’s basketball team won the college championship.
A few years later, while Magic was playing for the Los Angeles Laker I was invited to attend a birthday party his father organized in Lansing. Having lived most of my life in a white environment, the party was a culturally electric experience. I was one of the 10% of attendees who were white and the event made me realize how little I knew about the black community.
Guests were asked to dress in black or white, and once in the ballroom, the fashion show we beheld was spectacular. Johnson’s young female friends were especially dazzling, looking as though they had stepped off of a New York runway while the men, demonstrating their individuality, wore colored spats and bright suspenders under traditional black tuxedos.
At 7 p.m. the doors were locked to prevent late arrivals. I sat down next to a state senator at an all white table when seven L.A. Laker giants, accompanied by tall, stunning females, entered amid flashing lights, and excited shouting fans. Projecting his well-recognized smile, Magic was in his element when speaking, leaving guests to realize that there was much more ambition in him than simply a basketball player. His favorite band had been flown in from L.A. as a birthday gift from his father. While it played, the black crowd moved and applauded to the sounds while those of us who were white sat stoically in our seats wondering, not understanding.
This party was my first total immersion into a culturally unfamiliar environment. Just as Earvin had to learn about white America, I needed to be exposed to and learn about black culture. I observed many interactions during that evening that made me feel uncomfortable, and I began to wonder how difficult it might be for a minority child to visit a museum where most attendees were white. My eyes were just starting to open.”
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Many experiences over a great many years helped me become invested in seeing that all elements of society receive an education and live a rewarding life. Lives of Museum Junkies explores what I and others have done to ensure that the underrepresented population is served. My present work with street youth is an extension of the sensibilities I gained while working in museums.
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Art work is always for sale. Contact me at [email protected]
Do respond below with your thoughts.
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For sale on Amazon by Marilynne Eichinger: The True Story of Streetwise, overcoming homelessness and beating the odds. Go to AMAZON .
8/5/2016 1:09:50 PM
The Gossips
12” by 36” / Acrylic Painting / $ 325
Getting community buy-in is often like whispering down the lane. It is a person to person conversation that eventually reaches a tipping point that pushes an idea over the precipice for implementation.
The following excerpt is from my upcoming book Lives of Museum Junkies that is due out at the end of August. Look for information in upcoming blogs. I will be holding several book signings beginning in Tampa, Florida in September; Lansing, Michigan in October; and Portland, Oregon in November. The book is presently at the printers and will be available in a few weeks. I look forward to seeing you at one of these events. If you want to preorder contact me at [email protected].
Community
“World events can never be ignored. A milestone that occurred when I was young turned the entire country looking skyward. Sputnik was launched. This was the first time a spaceship was successfully placed in orbit. I remember my mother saying to me that she always prided herself in keeping up with change, but somehow she could not understand what it meant to be putting objects in space. She felt lost and confused about the future.
Many adults today feel like my mother did in the Sputnik era. Technology continuously introduces changes at such a rapid rate that it is not surprising that coping is difficult. We watch many former jobs disappear, and at the same time sophisticated technological positions stay unfilled because of a lack of technical education. Streetwise once told me that he wished he were born one-hundred years ago. He did not like the competition and fast pace of city life, rebelled against using computers, and was fearful of driving on freeways. Thankfully, over the past years he has learned to cope with all of these realities.
This young man’s reaction was similar to that of many of his peers who lacked an understanding of basic subjects, current events, and scientific advancements. Yet these are the men and women who will be voting and making decisions that affect society in the future. The high school dropout rate in the United States is 25 percent, which is a concern since democracy depends on an educated populace.
As a museum director, I remained cognizant of our continually changing society with ever-evolving community issues, and soon realized that the job was filled with push-pull opportunities. I had ideas of what I thought the community needed, but it was not until citizens pushed me to accomplish what I preached that I could succeed. If I had not spearheaded the museum’s growth, it would not have happened, but it was the community that did not let me fail. People grabbed on to ideas and would not let them die. In some respects, I was set up to succeed as long as I was just willing to put in the hours, accept the pain and pitfalls, and not think about anything but the end result. Absolutely no one wanted me to fail. . . .
Lives of Museum Junkies offers insight into how this is done.
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You may have a private business with family, investors and bankers committed to your success or you may be involved in a nonprofit organization that depends on community contributions. Perhaps you are working for one or another politician and walking door to door with his or her message. Whatever your passion, it is imperative that you not only communicate but get community buy-in if you want to succeed. This is not always easy. There is an art to organizing people and enabling them to feel a part of your cause.
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Do share your experience in how you went about getting community involvement in your project. Do respond to this post below.
Artwork is always for sale. Contact me at [email protected].
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For sale on Amazon by Marilynne Eichinger: The True Story of Streetwise, overcoming homelessness and beating the odds. Go to AMAZON .
